There are so many fragrance launches each year it’s difficult to write about them all. Speed Sniffs is a way to bring you to the point reviews fragrances that are quick and easy to digest. After all, sometimes all one needs is a few lines to capture the essence of a scent. Speed Sniffs are perfume reviews without all of the faff and tell you whether the subject is something you want to sniff or not. So hurry up and read, because we don’t have much time…
Luxury goods brand Coach have overhauled their fragrance collection and it now consists of two pillars: Coach for Her and Coach for Him. There’s something rather clean and tidy about offering two fragrances and it seems like Coach have worked hard to ensure that their feminine and masculine pillar fragrances represent the spirit of the brand. They’ve worked with top notch perfumers and have even incorporated suede, a material so vital to the brand, in each of their fragrances. So the two scents from Coach are perfectly on brand.
Coach for Men, the masculine of the pair launched this summer and was created by perfumers Anne Flipo (MyQueen by Alexander McQueen and Basil & Neroli by Jo Malone London) and Bruno Jovanovic (Dries van Noten and Monsieur. by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle). It’s a fragrance “inspired by mavericks, rebels and all-American dreamers” and fronted by Actor/Director/Artist James Franco, which all sounds very interesting so let’s put it to the speed sniff test!
The Verdict
Coach for Men sits within that category of fresh suede masculine cents that populate the mainstream and it’s in very good company, sitting right next to the likes of Valentino’s gourmand-inflected Uomo and Dior Homme, the true classic of the genre. In Coach for Men the suede is more subtle and the balance is shifted squarely to fresh, aromatic citrus and spice notes. It’s the use of bergamot and cardamom, two of masculine perfumery’s staple ingredients, that leaves Coach for Men feeling a little bit generic. Where the Valentino subverts the genre with myrtle liqueur and praline, and the Dior feminises it with the supple tones of buttery iris, Coach for Men simply uses the style of suede to elevate the masculine standard.
Now that may make it sound as if I don’t think Coach for Men is a very good fragrance at all, but that’s not actually the case. I find it to be perfectly palatable and pleasant, if not a little unadventurous. I certainly enjoy it more with time and as the fragrance develops it gets warmer in the dry down, presenting a smooth suede accord accented with a mineral-like dose of ambergris. In fact, it perfectly matches the black to grey ombre effect that casts a shadow on the bottle, which must mean that Coach for Men achieves what it set out to do.
Sniff This If…
…you like freshness but crave something a little bit more. Coach for Men would be the perfect masculine for all day every day. You could chuck it in your gym bag and its zingy bergamot and cardamom top notes certainly wouldn’t feel out of place on the treadmill, but you could also wear it to a casual lunch too. Coach for Men would even transition well into night time if your personal style is paired back and not particularly showy. You certainly could do a lot worse with a versatile modern masculine, that’s for sure.
Availability
Coach for Men is available in 40ml (£29), 60ml (£45) and 100ml (£62) Eau de Parfum.
Disclaimer
Sample, notes and quotes via Coach. Images are my own.
The Candy Perfume Boy 